9 tips for hosts

Be the host with the most! Here are our top 9 tips for enticing visitors to stay in your 9flats property.

1: Firstly something obvious to everyone (but worth repeating): the apartment or house should be spotlessly clean for new guests. It should smell nice too. Fresh flowers always smell nicer than chemical room fragrance and apart from the scent, are a nice personal touch.

2: Furnishing and decorating your property in an aesthetically pleasing manner will encourage people to want to stay there. However, if the property is too individually decorated it may be off-putting to some guests. Try to maintain the fine balance between having mass-appeal but also standing out.

3: Photographs. In your main photo think about including something distinctive in the image. For example: a painting, or a bright cushion, or a flowing plant and so on. Why? Many unregistered users browse through the site who will only register weeks later. A visual hook in your photo may help them remember your particular property. They can then add it to their favourites once they join the 9flats website. Also make sure that you upload clear, good quality photos – we’ll put a quick guide as to how to take, edit and upload photos on this blog in the near future. In the meantime, if you would like to arrange for one of the 9flats team in your area to take top quality photos for you, please just email us to set up an appointment.

4: Think carefully about the written description of your property. After the photographs, it the next thing that people see. You only get one chance to impress, so make what your write as descriptive as possible! Are there sports activities nearby? Golf, sailing, horse riding, hiking etc. What about restaurants, shopping, night-life, beaches? If yes, tell people about it! If your property is far away from the nearest town, this doesn’t have to be a disadvantage. Inform people of driving times or public transport. Staying in an isolated and quiet property is some people’s idea of heaven. For those who want to get away from it all, point out the benefits of the tranquillity and privacy that you offer.

5: Why not make a guest folder? Put your house rules in there. Insert fliers for activities, sights and events in your local area or anything else of interest. A simple map of the surrounding area marked with where to buy food, petrol, restaurants will help orientate your guests on their first day.

6: Do you have contacts in your local area who you could form a mutually beneficial arrangement with? What about providing guests the opportunity for discounts for local activities, or services? You keep your guests happy while simultaneously generating new customers for local businesses, who will then refer people back to you.

7: Think about what kind of guests you would ideally want. For example: Are you happy to attract guests who are families with children? Or perhaps you only want business travellers, or vibrant young people who want to have a weekend of fun. What things are on offer in your property or surroundings would attract your ideal guests to you? Once you’ve found the answer to this, include some tantalising text in your description.

8: The 9flats website is not just a platform to advertise your apartments. By making friends with others registered on the site, you have boundless possibilities to make new contacts, with other hosts and with potential guests. Share your tips about being a successful host with other hosts on the site. Get feedback from guests or potential guests as to why they didn’t or did rent your place. Use this information to implement some changes to help bring more guests to your home.

9: The final tip is…if you haven’t done so yet, get going and register as a host here. Get familiar with our website, browse around and see how it works and make sure to update your calendar regularly so potential guests are always up to date.